Guest Designer JANINE!

Hi everyone, Janine here for The Inked Stamper Design team! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas .  I don't know about everyone else , but I needed a little kick in the butt after the holidays to get back into my crafting. Thank goodness for the design team inspiration, as soon as I looked at it all of the ideas started flowing and I couldn't wait to start my project! The Bo-Bunny Altitude paper line was the perfect place to start my project and if you ask me they hit the nail right on the head with this beautiful paper!! After choosing my paper I mixed up some light modelling paste and a few sprays of Dylusions sprays in "Crushed Grape" and used one of my snowflake stencils to give the paper some texture and dimension.  After that was dry I sprayed some "make your own" Primary elements mixed with water in "Teal Zircon"( this was a Finnabair trick she taught us this summer!) over top of the snowflakes. I then sprayed Color bloom spray in Pearl white over the whole page to tone down everything and give a beautiful shimmer!  Then I stamped some snowflakes on neutral paper with "weathered wood" distress ink, fussy cut them out and then clear powder heat embossed them to give them shine and texture. I picked a few different papers in the same Altitude line, cut them in different shapes and sizes and inked the edges in weathered wood to make a background for my picture. Then it was time to arrange everything down on paper. I usually group all my embellishments in two groups in a line that is pleasing to the eye.  So away I went  grouping my stamped snowflakes, Prima dollie die cuts, Prima flowers, metal snowflakes, say it in pearls and say it in crystals in a diagonal line on either corner of my picture and finished it off with a burlap bow and a few spots of silver Izinks! I had a ton of fun  playing with my craft stuff and making something pretty! I hope you all enjoy my project and that I inspired you all to go into your own craft rooms and make something pretty...after all it is too cold to go outside so you might as well stay in and craft!!!! 

Kate's fabulous Mini Album: January Design Team

A Mini Mini-Album

I hate snow and it would be a lot easier to keep hating if it wasn't so pretty. And this month's inspiration happily gave me the motive to do another mini album, but this one is tiny. It was a spur of the moment idea, so (I'm sad to admit) I didn't get any in-progress photos of working on it. 

I'm big on mini-albums because I like actually finishing my projects and my 12x12 scrapbooks... I feel like I never really finish them. This album only contains a couple of favorite polaroids from the holiday season... two years ago. Better late than never. Am I the only one a teeny bit behind? I've fallen off the journal bandwagon because of the current holiday season so this project was the perfect way to start my new year. I left room to slip in little journal cards and 'detail' tags to go with the photos and I'll be adding this to the shelf of minis.

I also hid a little new year's resolution in the pocket with the sequins (note to self: take better pictures). I told myself it's ambitious: I'm going to clear out old all the craft/art supplies I don't use in my craft room and use some of the extra space (which I assume I will have after organizing everything) to display my projects a little better. And I hope one of the design team inspiration pictures will get me going on a hand-made display!

January 50% OFF SALE and 1rst DT project

Hi All! Dawn here, before we move on to Pam's Awesome Banners, just wanted to let you know that January's I don't want to Count Stock Sale is still going on this week!! 50% off all products in shop...just not handmade items! 

Pam here with my design team project for January.  Resolutions have never been my strength.  They tend to be monster-sized goals that seize your attention for a few weeks until your best friend says to you, as you're carrying your gym bag out to the car with the greenest of green smoothies, there is a super sale at (you fill in the blank) and we will need humungous lattes to survive the rush.  Resolutions can be behemoths if you let them.  

But resolutions really are simply goals; we just tend to make them at a critical time when the world is bellowing sentiment of new beginnings and fresh starts.  Therefore we often take a reasonable, probably meaningful, goal and turn the little critter into a mountain of an accomplishment.

With that said, I have made two "resolutions" this year (I have many goals but two of which I really want to be mindful): (1) Organize better so that I may (2) spend more time with family and friends.  The first resolution may surprise those of you who know me.  I am quite the organized person.  Everything has a home and events and activities are always well planned and prepared.  What I need is a schedule.  

I read this article (Here’s What You Should Do Instead Of Making New Year’s Resolutions It’s called a “rememberlutions” jar and it’ll make you feel good all year) posted by Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine and decided to, in addition to my two resolutions, celebrate the smaller resolution successes as they come as well as all of the magnificent things, memories and accomplishments over the next twelve months by creating my own rememberlutions jar.

That coupled with our design team inspiration, I was off to the races.

I created a pendant for each of the four seasons of the year so that I have something to look forward to at the end of each season as the jar turns.

winter:

spring:

summer: 

autumn:

And here they are all together and assembled:

Whether you create resolutions this year or a rememberlutions jar, do what makes you feel good, makes you giggle and smile and let's you celebrate you all year long.